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I'm happy to say that we're an arm's reach away from being in Patrick Peterson range. We've got the 6th worst record tied with Zona.

With strength of schedule playing such a huge role as the tiebreaker we would have to lose out and have teams below us win to have a shot at PP. As of now we have the 7th ranked SoS (only the Vikings and Browns have a tougher one in our drafting area) so tying anyone = us falling down in draft position.

These are the rules for determining the draft order for the 2011 draft:

1. Teams that make the playoffs receive the last 12 draft picks from position 21-32, ordered by which round of the playoffs they were eliminated.
2. Teams that didn't make the playoffs are ordered by their regular season W/L record.
3. The tiebreaker for teams with identical records is the Strength of Schedule. For the draft order, the lower SOS results in an earlier pick.
4. If the SOS does not resolve a tie, a division or conference tiebreaker is used. If that fails as well, draft order is determined by a coin toss during the combine.

Our schedule screwed us twice it seems...

As mentioned above I think 6-10 is most likely considering the way the Skins are falling apart and the fact we play the Cardinals. Revenge game with Philly? Can't imagine we don't take it to the wire.

Originally posted by D-Unit

I have no clue what Bortles is all about. Has a funny name though. Sounds like a Pokemon.

Dallas Cowboys GM -Forum Mock

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To be honest I'm more worried about what's going to happen with picks 2-5. Now I'm not thinking that they should try and find an immediate starter with a 4th rounder, but they can find some quality talent to groom into contributors in the coming years in those rounds.

I'm pretty certain that they'll hit on a good defensive player in the first round. There is a good amount of talent that fits their needs, and I certainly wouldn't mind getting one of four guys. The only thing to worry about is the potential of a lockout keeping underclassmen in school. The date to declare is in January, but if a lockout happens we not know until March. Some guys might not want to end up in a bad situation, so they might stay in school for security.

"If you have one finger pointing at somebody, you have three pointing towards yourself."
~Nigerian Proverb

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My bad, I didn't mean fairley would help us more. I just think it's the better choice. Look at what Suh is doing in detroit. Now I know fairley isn't quite on that level, but he's close. I don't think corner will have as much of an IMPACT as a dominant D-lineman. If we could get another player to get pressure consistantly on passing downs besides ware and ratliff, and if you want to include spencer, it would do wonders.

Comment

I really like Fairley too. When is the last time that the team had a dominant D-line? They really haven't had one since the switch to the 3-4. With Fairley you could have that whether they stay in the 3-4 or switch back to a 4-3. To me it would be more about the coordinator mixing up the front seven a bit to throw other teams off.

"If you have one finger pointing at somebody, you have three pointing towards yourself."
~Nigerian Proverb

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I like Fairley also. I would love to draft him. But I would disagree that he is close to Suh. I thought Suh was special. I think Fairley is really good.

Also, I have to agree that giving Garrettop the job now is the way to go. I would agree that he will get it anyway. I would like to see who can play and who can't as far as the young guys are concerned.

Strangely, I still think this team is loaded-talent wise. I know many of you feel like the talent level is lower than what we thought before the season started. I couldn't disagree more. Get these guys motivated to play, have a healthy Romo and good play calling and I still believe this is a really good football team.

I don't think Peterson will be available anywhere near where we will be drafting. I would not be surprised to see him be gone really early. And I am talking in the 2-4 range. I know he is a cornerback, but his physical skillset is off the charts and he puts it together on the field.

I also have a question I would love for someone to answer. On the local talk-radio stations they always mention how Jerry loves to draft Arkansas players. And to a fault. I am curious what they are talking about. Felix was not taken to high. But on top of that, he is the only Arkansas guy I can remember them taking anywhere near the top of the draft. Can anyone on here give some prospective on what they are talking about?

I published my first book. Available in ebook or paperback! Check it out!!!

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What worries me about this draft is that it's so important to our team success for next season, unlike before. We need to come away with 3-4 starters out of this draft minimum or we will be in trouble. We need another starting CB, DE, two Safeties, and 3-4 spots on the offensive line. No way we fill all those needs in an off-season, but it just goes to show if our draft is crap were in big trouble.

Originally posted by Scott Wright

I guarantee that if someone picks Cam Newton in the Top 5 they will regret it.

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I don't think a bad draft next year leads to trouble immediately, but it will come back to bite them in the ass in the next three years. Right now they have enough talent to be competitive. Romo throwing to Miles, Witten, and Dez is going to keep them in many games, and Felix and Choice can be great if they get them the ball more. The offense has a ton of weapons to keep things interesting for another year or two, but the holes will eventually become too unbearable.

I think 3-4 immediate starters is a little too much from one draft, but they need guys that are going to contribute right away. Maybe one or two starters and two to three rotational guys. Of course, they could strike gold like they did on 05.

"If you have one finger pointing at somebody, you have three pointing towards yourself."
~Nigerian Proverb

Comment

I don't think a bad draft next year leads to trouble immediately, but it will come back to bite them in the ass in the next three years. Right now they have enough talent to be competitive. Romo throwing to Miles, Witten, and Dez is going to keep them in many games, and Felix and Choice can be great if they get them the ball more. The offense has a ton of weapons to keep things interesting for another year or two, but the holes will eventually become too unbearable.

I think 3-4 immediate starters is a little too much from one draft, but they need guys that are going to contribute right away. Maybe one or two starters and two to three rotational guys. Of course, they could strike gold like they did on 05.

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On the right side, Marc Colombo is having a throwaway season as further evidenced by his performance (-4.2) against the Eagles:

This was Colombo’s fourth game of the season with a grade lower than -4.0 and he was poor in both pass protection and on the ground. Colombo gave up a sack, hit and two pressures in the 42 times Kitna dropped back to pass. He contributed to the 13-yard total gained when running right of the center.

For the season, Colombo has accumulated a -30.2 grade, the second worst grade in the league surpassed only by the Bears' RT J'Marcus Webb. What is particularly alarming is the dropoff from last year. In 2009, Colombo graded out with a +6.1 over the 10 regular season games he played healthy, which ranked him as the number 14 right tackle.

Another player PFF looked at in detail is Jay Ratliff, who they see as the third best 3-4 pass rushing NT in the game ( +11.0 rushing grade is actually up significantly vs 09). They also see him suddenly struggling in run defense this year and have strongly downgraded his run defense accordingly (+13.0 2009, -6.5 in 2010). The Eagles game was no exception to the general trend:

Jay Ratliff (-2.1) is struggling against the run, especially this year. The nose tackle made one tackle (a stop) and an assist for a run-defense grade of -1.7. He is still dangerous as a pass-rusher, however, getting a sack on 20 rushes (which accounted for his other stop). Ratliff also committed a penalty when he jumped offside.

For the season, Ratliff has a +4.8 grade (+11.0 pass rushing, -6.5 run defense). Josh Brent (+3.7) isn’t anywhere near the dominant factor that Jay Ratliff is in the passing game but at times he's looked like a better option against the run (-1.2 pass rushing, +5.3 run defense). Something that the numbers don't necessarily reflect is that more than ever, opposing offenses are keying on double-teaming Ratliff, and if they can get him blocked, there goes the run defense up the middle.

And here's another thing to consider as you look at Ratliff's grades: Marcus Spears was easily the best run defender on the team garnering a +8.6 grade in run defense through week nine (Spears injured his calf in the third quarter of the week nine game against the Packers and has since been placed on injured reserve). Through week nine, Ratliff had a +0.2 grade against the run. In the 5 games without Spears, Ratliff has a -6.7 grade against the run.

Other key players of note: Keith Brooking, who entered the game with a foot injury, had his worst grade of the season with a -2.9 as he struggled on run defense. Sean Lee (+0.8) on the other hand was good against the run and made three tackles with two stops in only 17 defensive snaps. Of note: Brooking played 39 defensive snaps, his lowest total of the whole season.